Grown-Up Hair Care

Since settling into my twenty-something years, I've really started practicing a "quality over quantity" mindset, but it's still a difficult life choice to execute because I live on an extremely limited budget (#studentloans). However, on Friday I went to a new salon to get a hair cut because I had heard really good things about the stylists' resumes. Needless to say, it was a true eye opener and I was there for an hour and half getting an education on proper hair care.

As someone who prides herself on beauty knowledge, I was surprised by how much I had to learn. I've always used drugstore hair products because I really couldn't afford anything else and never believed there was much of a difference between drugstore and salon quality (which is weird because I've always tried to buy luxury brand makeup).

However, as soon as I left the salon I was converted; my hair had never felt so shiny and lush in my life. The haircut itself was leagues above anything I had received in the past, but I definitely noticed a shift in my mindset. Also, I think I should point out that I'm kind of a wash, blowdry, and go kind of girl, which means that I don't use a lot of product on my hair (build up does bad things to my locks). So here's what my new hair care routine looks like:

1. Matrix Biolage Scalptherapie Antidandruff Shampoo-This might seem a little bit of a TMI, but I want to be honest with you all. I had been complaining for week about how my scalp was really itchy, but it didn't feel like dandruff, which I had suffered from when I was younger. I learned from Rachel, my stylist, that there is in fact a difference between dandruff and dry scalp, and I was definitely suffering from the latter. Rachel was sweet enough to gift me a bottle of this wonderful potion to help with my problem. My scalp still gets pretty itchy if it hasn't been washed in several hours, but I'm confident this will help it over time and my hair is already looking glorious, if I do say so myself ;)

2. Matrix Biolage Smoothproof Conditioner-My hair is weird in the fact that I have a lot (so think thick) of fine hairs. Essentially, I have a ton of really thin hairs that aren't coarse like you would normally associate with thick hair. Anyway, because of this, I have to constantly battle frizz because I can't use a  heavy frizz-free product that will weigh down my fine strands. I have high hopes that this conditioner will make me less frizzy!

3. Sonia Kashuk Hair Brush-While at my appointment, I was educated on the importance of having a good hair brush with boar bristles. Rachel was telling me all about the differences between brushes when I happened to notice that there were Mason Pearson brushes (the holy grail of hairbrushes) among their inventory. Of course, I experienced a bit of brush envy, but then remembered a book I had read called How to Look Expensive by Andrea Pomerantz Lustig that talked about how Sonia Kashuk's hair brush was a much, much, much cheaper dupe for a Mason Pearson brush. Since I haven't used both brushes, I can't tell you if the Sonia Kashuk brush really is comparable, but I love it! I get a nice scalp massage every time I use it and it makes my hair look great!

I just want to give a final thank you to Rachel for giving me such a wonderful education!  I can't wait to see her again in 8 weeks for my next hair cut!

xoxo, S